


at least a maybe

by Crollalanza



Series: Sports Fest 2018 Haikyuu!! [23]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, college future fic, possible Dandelions connection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 07:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15681006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crollalanza/pseuds/Crollalanza
Summary: Even though he wants to be alone to get on with his work, Kita knows better than to ignore the rappity-rap on his door, especially when the person drumming his fingers on the wood is his neighbour, Tendou Satori, who is as persistent as he is annoying.And he also ignores the nagging voice in his head that perhaps Tendou's company is exactly what he needs to shake him out of his funk.





	at least a maybe

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a fic called Dandelions at the beginning of the year which is about Kita and Tendou. Perhaps this is compliant with that ... who knows? Anyway, I'm awfully fond of this pair as two polar opposites who find a connection ... somehow. 
> 
> This was written for sportsfest 
> 
> Prompt: 
> 
> But you had to come along didn't you  
> Rev up the crowd, rewrite the rule book  
> Where do I go when every 'n' turns into 'maybe'

Kita knew better than to ignore the rappity-rap on his door. There was no use on pretending that he wasn’t in because said owner of the fingers that were currently drumming on the wooden panels to gain his attention already knew he was inside his room, having passed him in the hallway an hour ago.

_Heavy bag there, Kita-san._

_Getting a head start on a project_.

_Ah, a head start, so no real rush, right?_

At that Kita had made a mental note to never again hint at any timescale for his college work because as far as his neighbour was concerned, deadlines were meant to be pushed and met by the skin of his teeth.

And that was not the way Kita Shinsuke worked at all.

At school his class and team mates had known this. They’d learned from the start that Kita was someone who practised diligence, who lived by the maxim of being a product of the small things he did _each_ day. And not the sum of scrabbling things together at the last minute and relying on whatever wits could carry you through.

Only volleyball and especially the Miyas had come close to upsetting this rhythm. Watching them had caused occasional daydreams in class, his mind slipping to one of their most perfect plays.  He’d allowed himself to dream.

And maybe that had been the problem.

 

He was still there, knocking at the door with clearly no intention of leaving.

“Kita-kun. Kitaaaa.”

 Kita guessed he could have put music on, but he doubted any music loud enough would have drowned out the knowledge _he_ was there, probably pressing his forehead up against the door. So he got to his feet and opened the door.

“Hey!!!”  His visitor was lolling against the door frame, a lazy joker-type of smile on his face.

He fixed a polite smile on his face. “Tendou-san, how can I help you?”

“It’s me that’s gonna help you,” Tendou replied. “Bet you’re hungry. I thought you could do with a snack.”

“That is thoughtful of you,” Kita replied, a little surprised because he wasn’t sure he’d ever come across this incarnation of Tendou in the three months they’d lived across the hall from each other. He was loud, most definitely. Provocative, continually. And very often generous. But thoughtful? No, there was always an angle. It was just that Kita couldn’t work out what it was.

“I really am busy.”

“Ah, but it’s a beautiful day. Wouldn’t you rather be outside? I was thinking about taking a walk to the park. Maybe check out the courts…” He trailed off and waggled his eyebrows. “Or go to that ramen place I was telling you about.”

“No, thank you. I want to get on with my work.”

“Ah, work. When’s that deadline again?”

“Three weeks time,” he replied, adding, “but I like keeping to a schedule.”

“Of course you do.” Tendou sighed. “Well, you know where I am if you want a break.” He shrugged. “Or friendly conversation.”

He turned his back, and there was a slight hunch to his shoulders that for some unfathomable reason made Kita consider changing his mind, but he pressed his lips together, stopping the no from becoming a maybe.

 

Kita didn’t see much of Tendou for the next fortnight. He stuck his nose in his books, kept his head down and continued to plan then write his project. Tendou tapped on the door a few times, the last one telling him he was going away for a few days.

“Visiting an old teammate. Might get to watch a game,” he said, and held out his key. “Sorry if this is a pain, but would you keep my key? I’m sure to lose it.”

“Not a problem,” Kita assured him, and waved. “Have fun.”

“Yeah, sure.” He sloped off, not his usual jaunty step, although that could have been because of the bag he’d hitched across his shoulder.

Closing the door, Kita sat back at his desk. His tea was just at the right temperature, so he sipped for a while. His mind drifted from the project and to Tendou’s rather heavy steps, and he wondered about that for a short time, but then his eyes focused on a passage in his essay and he tsked at the muddled phrasing, pressing backspace to delete it all.

 

Three days later, Tendou sent him a text saying he’d be back at around 2 **[if that’s okay with you, Kita-san?]**

It meant coming straight back from his tutorial, rather than stopping for lunch, and although he knew Tendou would readily agree to meet him on the campus if asked, Kita texted back to say it was fine.

It had been a quiet three days with no one rapping on his door, and he’d made steady progress with his work, even if it hadn’t been coming together quite as he hoped. There was something lacking, he knew that, a spark missing as if he were writing by rote and not getting to the nub of his argument.

_Rap. Rap._

A pause.

Kita smiled a little, waiting for the next finger tapping parade, but instead Tendou called out, “Hey, it’s me. I’ve come for my key.”

“Of course.” Snatching up the key, Kita wrenched open the door (quite surprised at his speed, if the truth be told). “Here you are. Good trip?”

His hand in his hair, Tendou stifled a yawn and rubbed at his eyes, the shadows darker that Kita had seen.

“Ah, you know.”  Tendou waggled his hand, then took a step away. “Anyway, mustn’t disturb you, Kita-san. You’re hard at it, right?”

“Uh… yes. Yes I am,” he replied.

“One more week and then you’re done,” Tendou said. “Maybe you should celebrate.”

He waited for Tendou to suggest something, the park, or a coffee, or even the ramen bar he often frequented, but he’d already opened his door and after a last ‘thank you’ Tendou disappeared into his room.

It was disconcerting after that to return to his reading. There was something about his mind that couldn’t focus on the page and words swam in front of his eyes. What he could see in front of him was not a chunk of text, but—oddly enough—the Miyas equally forlorn faces after _that_ match.

Closing his books and laptop, Kita reached for a teapot and two mugs.

 

“Tendou-kun,” he called out.

“Eh?”

“I’m outside. I can’t knock as I have my hands full.”

Tendou appeared, opening the door a crack. “You brought me tea?”

“And some biscuits. Although if you’re too tired then…”

“Nah, come in.” He opened the door wider. “If you can make it past my mess.”

While Tendou cleared a table (dumping a pile of papers onto the floor) Kita navigated his way past odd socks and manga, and sat in the tidiest of the chair (only one jacket and a tee shirt slung across the back).

“So what have I done to earn a visit from you, Kita-san?” Tendou muttered.

“You look tired,” he replied, and began to pour the tea. “And maybe I need a break from work. Milk?”

Tendou nodded. “How’s the work going? Nearly done?”

“Writing it up now,” Kita explained. “Hoping to hand it in on Monday.”

“You’re well prepared.”

“Always have been,” he demurred, and took a sip of the tea. Lapsang Souchong, smoky on his lips and tongue, a drink to be savoured.

Tendou hadn’t touched his but was holding the cup in his hands staring down, although whether he’d registered it was full was anyone’s guess.

“Tendou?”

“Hmm?”

“Is everything all right?”

“Who knows?” Tendou muttered. “I don’t.” Then he sniffed. “Someone I was seeing at school. We kinda finished it. Mutual agreement… sort of … still it—”

“Hurts?” Kita asked and put his cup down.

“That’s the thing,” Tendou replied. “It sort of does, but not as much as I thought it would. It’s more … we’re experiencing different things and maybe all we ever had in common was volleyball and school.” He flapped his hand then took a glug of his tea. “Sorry, shouldn’t burden you with all this crap.”

“It’s not a burden.” He tried a smile. “Drink up, Tendou-kun, and if you’re not too tired then maybe we could take a walk to the park, even checkout the volleyball courts.”

“Really.” For a moment he looked less tired and far more like the Tendou Kita knew. “You’ve said no every time I’ve suggested that. Or any trip, come to think of it. Was starting to think you had some kinda rule about not having any fun.” He shrugged. “But what do I know? Could be that’s the way to stop yourself drifting too far away.”

Was that what he’d been doing? Burying himself in books, burying the hurt of the last time he’d stepped on court, waiting for the grass to grow over those memories.

Well, perhaps it was time to stop saying no, to say yes … or … he considered … a maybe at least.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Tendou's ex is up to you ...


End file.
